Parametric optimization on the activity determination of midgut α-amylase in larvae of Mythimna separate Walker was investigated by screening the 3,5 dinitrosalicylic acid methods with eleven combinations of parameters. The results showed that the in vitro determined optimal parameters were 0.03 mol/L phosphate buffer (pH 8.0) containing 55 mmol/L NaCl, reaction temperature 45℃ and absorbance wavelength 480 nm. Ca²⁺ inhibited the activity of α-amylase. Moreover,  the optimal method significantly decreased Km value of α-amylase from M. separate, Blattella germanica,  Tenebrio molitor,  Culex pipiens pallens and Musca domestica larvae,  and increased V_max  value of α-amylase from M. separate and B. germanica, but strongly decreased Vmax values of α-amylase from T. molitor,  C. pipiens pallens and M. domestica larvae. The study suggested that the optimal method not only enhanced the affinity and the maximum reaction velocity of α-amylase with its substrate, but also improved the accuracy and the sensitivity on the activity of α-amylase from M. separate larvae in assays, whereas it was not the optimal method for determining the activity of α-amylase from T. molitor,  C. pipiens pallens  and M. domestica larvae.

Detoxification enzymes in insects are generally demonstrated as the enzymatic defense against foreign compounds and play significant roles in maintaining their normal physiological functions. In this study, protein contents and carboxylesterase (CarE), acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), cytochrome P450-dependent O-demethylase and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities of Bactrocera tau Walker were determined by biochemical methods. The results showed that protein contents and these detoxification enzyme activities of the fruit fly varied significantly when fed on different diets including cucumber, pumpkin, towel gourd, white gourd and balsam pear. For protein contents, they were highest on balsam pear while lowest on cucumber and white gourd. For these detoxification enzymes, the CarE activity was highest on cucumber and pumpkin, cytochrome P450-dependent O-demethylase and GST activities were highest on balsam pear, but ACP and ALP activities were lowest on cucumber and pumpkin, respectively. In addition, these detoxification enzyme activities were also significantly different in the larval, pupal and adult stages. Adults had the highest CarE activity, and larvae had the highest ALP, cytochrome P450-dependent O-demethylase and GST activities, but the lowest ACP activity. Generally, these detoxification enzyme activities in the pupal stage were lower than those in the larval and adult stages except for ACP. Based on the above results, it was inferred that these detoxification enzyme activities were closely related to host plant species and developmental stages of this fruit fly.

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) were a class of the important xenobiotics metabolizing enzymes in insects. In this research, a 771 bp GST-Omega1 gene (encoded 256 amino acids) was cloned by RT-PCR from the midgut of Bombyx mandarina for exploring the expression profiling of enzyme GSTs in eukaryotic expression system. Analysis by Conserved Domains online tool of NCBI website indicated that the deduced amino acid sequence was comprised of the omega family conserved sequences with one Cys residue and eight GSH binding sites. GST-Omega1 was then cloned into the pFastBacHT b vector, and the recombinant vector was transformed into DH10Bac competent cells to obtain the bacmid DNA. Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cells were transfected with the complexes of bacmid DNA and lipofectin to get recombinant baculovirus. The SDS-PAGE and Western blotting results of the expression of recombinant protein showed that a specific band was detected around 33 kD, consistent with the expected size of the fusion protein. The purified target protein by His-Bind resin could catalyze the universal GST substrate CDNB, and exhibited enzymatic activity K_m 2.81 µmol/L and V_max 2.70 μmol/(mg·min).

To utilize sterile insect technique to control the Oriental fruit fly effectively, the genetic sexing strain for the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis （Hendel） based on pupal color was developed. This strain permits the separation of males from females at the pupal stage. The results indicated that the genetic sexing strain was stable after genetic test cross. The percent egg hatch, pupal weight, adult emergence rate, flight ability, and longevity of the genetic sexing strain under irradiation were not significantly different with the check. Pupae were irradiated with ⁶⁰Co of 100 Gy at 1, 2 and 3 d before emergence (indicated by -1 d, -2 d, and -3 d, respectively),  then mated wild females separately. Percent egg hatch of F1 was extremely low. Flight ability and longevity of the genetic sexing strain under irradiation stress were not significantly different with the check, but the emergence rate of -3 d was significantly different from that of the check, -1 d, and -2 d. Sterile males from the irradiated pupae of -2 d competed with wild males for wild females. The relative sterile index (RSI) was 0.4923, and this means both sterile male and wild male have almost equal competitiveness. Sterile males did not move extensively when there were abundant host plants in the releasing site.

Expression of antifungal peptides from hemolymph of housefly larvae was studied after fungal, thermal and ultrasonic induction, and the survival rates of the larvae were compared between different induction treatments. The peptides were isolated with Sephadex G-50 filtration and HPLC, and their antifungal activity and molecular weight were detected. The results showed that the antifungal peptides in the hemolymph of larvae under three different induction treatments all had obvious antifungal activity to Candida albicans (strain 09) and Cryptococcus neoformans. The survival rates of the larvae of the fungal and thermal induction treatments were obviously lower than that of the control, while that of the ultrasonic induction treatment was not obviously different from that of the control. The antifungal peptide purified from the peptides obtained by the thermal induction still showed high antifungal activity, with its molecular weight less than 14.4 kD. The results suggested that thermal induction was an easy and efficient method to induce antifungal peptides in housefly.

BmIFV-CHN001 is the first strain of infectious flacherie virus isolated in China. In this study, the sequence of VP1 gene fragment coding the main structural protein of BmIFV-CHN001 was amplified. Subsequent cloning and sequencing showed that the sequence fragment was 906 nucleotides in length. Comparison with the VP1 gene of the published Japanese strain indicated that the nucleotide sequence similarity was 99.3% while the amino acid sequence similarity was up to 100%, suggesting that BmIFV-CHN001 was highly homologous to the Japanese strain. Amino acid sequences alignment was performed based on the main structural proteins from BmIFV-CHN001 and other six viruses belonging to the same genus, Iflavirus. A phylogenetic tree was constructed. The results showed that there were close relationships among the seven viruses, while BmIFV-CHN001 had the closest relationship with the sacbrood virus of the honey bee.

Bioactivity and effect of rhodojaponin-Ⅲ on the Spodoptera litura cell (SL cell) and cell absorptivity of Na⁺, K⁺ and glucose were tested, and the effect on the cell amount of the 4th instar larvae of S. lituran was also studied. The resulted showed that when treated with 400 μg/mL and 200 μg/mL, the mortalities after 24 h treatment were 79.00% and 56.69%, respectively. The LC₅₀ to S. litura cell at 8, 16, 24 and 48 h after treatment were 240.09, 173.45, 113.56 and 73.40 mg/mL, respectively. Treated with rhodojaponin-Ⅲ, S. litura cells started to absorb Na⁺ and K⁺ rapidly in no less than 10 min, and 30 min later the absorbability wore off ; S. litura cells started to absorb glucose rapidly within 3 days, and in 4－5 days S. litura cells almost stopped uptaking glucose. Treated by leaf disc and injecting, the cell amount of the 4th instar larvae of S. litura receded observably, and recovered gradually as the treatment time extended.

For wisely evaluating resistance difference of cotton varieties to cotton aphid Aphis gossypii, the development and population dynamics of cotton aphid on eight cotton varieties (SM3, SY321, LM19, LM18, GK12, ZM32, SGK321, ZM41) of four types were investigated by combining field test and the laboratory experiment including life table construction and reproduction ability observation. The results indicated that there were significant differences in population dynamics of cotton aphid on different cotton varieties (P<0.05), with that on ZM32 (Bt transgenic cotton) was the highest (297.81 aphids/plant), and that on SM3 (conventional cotton) was the lowest (76.88 aphids/plant). There were also obvious differences at the selectivity of cotton aphid on the four types of cotton (P<0.05), but this pest exhibited the highest selectivity to Bt transgenic cotton. Judged with the life parameters of the experimental populations of cotton aphid, there were also notable discrepancies in the developmental duration, survivorship and reproduction and other examined parameters of the cotton aphid on different varieties. Cotton aphid population attained the longest developmental duration (6.46 d) on SY321 (conventional cotton) and the shortest (5.75 d) on ZM41 (Bt and CpTI transgenic cotton), and the survivorship on ZM32 was the biggest (88.21%) and on SGK321 (Bt and CpTI transgenic cotton) the smallest (76.46%), but the innate capacity of increase (r_m) were the highest on ZM32 (0.3695) and the lowest on ZM41 (0.3389). In addition, female adults fed on LM19 (insect resistance hybrid cotton) (44.8) had greater potential to enhance their fecundity compared to those fed on SGK321 (33.51). Generally evaluated, cotton aphid had the highest fitness on Bt transgenic cotton, and the lowest fitness on Bt and CpTI transgenic cotton.

Changes of nutrient components in roots and shoots of rice for tolerant and susceptible varieties to Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) infestation were detected by using H₂SO₄ -H₂O₂ method at the tillering stage. For Xie you 963, N, P and K contents in roots and shoots at 3 d after 60 and 120 nymphs/plant infestation and N contents in roots and shoots at 6 d at the tillering stage did not show significant reduction. P contents in roots and shoots at 6 d, K contents in roots at 6 d, P contents in shoots at 9 d and K contents in roots and shoots at 9 d after 120 nymphs/plant infestation decreased significantly but 60 nymphs/plant infestation did not result in significant reduction of P and K contents; K contents in shoots at 6 d and N contents in roots at 9 d after 60 and 120 nymphs/plant infestation showed significant reduction. For Xie you 63, N contents in shoots at 3 d, P contents in roots and shoots at 3 d, N and P contents at 6 d and 9 d after 60 and 120 nymphs/plant infestation did not show significant reduction. N and P contents in roots at 6 d, K contents in roots and shoots at 6 d and N contents in roots at 9 d after 120 nymphs/plant infestation decreased significantly, but 60 nymphs/plant infestation did not result in significant reduction. K contents in roots and shoots at 3 d and 9 d and P contents in roots at 9 d after 60 and 120 nymphs/plant infestation showed significant reduction. The results showed that nutrient components in rice plants under N. lugens infestation varied with rice variety. Xie you 63 was more sensitive than Xie you 963. Reduction of K content was the highest, the next was P and the last was N. Roots were more sensitive to N. lugens infestation compared with shoots.

For evaluating the effects of dietary heavy metals on the growth, development and reproduction of the parental generation and first filial generation of flesh fly Boettcherisca peregrine (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), newly oviposited larvae of the fly were exposed to various administered concentrations (200, 400, 800, and 1 600 mg/g)in the artificial diet until pupation under laboratory conditions, and some parameters relative to the growth, development and reproduction of the fly were observed and analyzed. The results indicated that the low dietary Cu²⁺ (200 mg/g) significantly enhanced body weight and body length of B. peregrine but had no obvious effect on its larval duration, pupation ration, pupal duration, eclosion ratio, sex ratio, mating ratio and oviposition number, while higher doses inhibited  development and reproduction. Moreover, with increasing of dietary Cu²⁺ concentration, the body weight of larva, pupa and adult become lighter, the body length of larva and pupa turned shorter, the percentages of pupation, emergence, mating and the fecundity were reduced, the duration of larva and pupa stage was prolonged, and the life span of adult shortened. However, the effect of copper on the sex ratio was not obvious. In contrast, the growth, development and reproduction of B. peregrine in the first filial generation unexposed to Cu²⁺ were almost not markedly affected in spite of the fact that their parental generation had previously been exposed to Cu²⁺. This suggests that effects of dietary copper on the parental generation of B. peregrine will not be transferred to its next generation. In addition, changes in Cu²⁺ contents of B. peregrine during metamorphosis in both the parental generation and the first filial generation were also determined.

The cDNA library was constructed with heads of 8-day old workers of Apis cerana cerana. cDNA sequence of major royal jelly protein 2 (MRJP2), which includes 1 605 bp and an open reading frame (ORF) encoding 468 amino acid residues, was screened and obtained from this library. A repetitive fragment of variable numbers of tandem repeat (VNTR) was found at the C-terminal sequence of A. cerana cerana MRJP2 for the first time. C-terminal repetitive sequences of MRJP2 were also cloned and sequenced for other five species of Apis. The results showed that in the other five species the sequences of the C-terminal repetitive fragment performed individual polymorphism based on core bases mutation instead of different duplications, while the lengths of the repetitive sequences were almost the same among different individuals belonging to one species. A. cerana cerana and A. mellifera, A. dorsata and A. laboriosa, and A. florea and A. andreniformis formed three evolutionary branches, respectively. The branch of A. cerana and A. mellifera showed a closer relationship with the branch of A. dorsata and A. laboriosa than that with the branch of A. florea and A. andreniformis.

A new species Chlorophaleobida taiwanensis sp. n. from Taiwan, China is described in this paper. The new species is similar to Ch. longusala Zheng, 1982, but differs from the latter in: posterior margin of pronotum without a small concave in the middle; tegmina longer, extending over the end of hind femur distinctly; and subgenital plate of male longer, apex acute. A key to all known species of the genus is given. The type specimen of the new species is deposited in the National Museum of Natural Science (NMNH), Taichung, Taiwan, China.

Olfaction plays crucial role in mosquito host seeking, oviposition and searching for sugar sources. However, the role of semiochemicals in mating behavior remains speculative. In this paper we summarized the research on mosquito ol faction and chemical ecology in the past 20 years. The olfactory receptors in the sensilla of the antenna, maxillary palps and proboscis respond to the odors from the environment. The olfactory transduction and neural encoding and processing in the peripheral olfactory pathway start from the binding of odorant binding receptors (OBP) with odors. The changes in sensitivity and response profile of olfactory receptor neurons as a result of blood meal are involved in modulating behavior of mosquito females. The carbon dioxide, lactic acid and other odors released from animal and human skins attract mosquito upwind flight to the source in the host seeking. The volatiles from the oviposition site and the pheromone compounds originating from eggs, larvae and pupae have been found attractive to thegravid females. The plant volatiles especially the flower fragrance helps mosquito adults search for sugars. Current repellents act by interfering, directly or indirectly, with olfaction. Some repellents inhibit the mosquito orientation flight by impeding its olfaction. It could be promising to find the active substances in the odors from animals, human skins, plants or oviposition sites. The understanding of the olfactory mechanism can allow us to develop new and effective tools for mosquito surveillance and control.

The histopathological changes of the midgut of rice leaf folder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) larvae feeding on Bt rice line“KMD1" and“KMD2" were observed using transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that cellular alternations in the midgut tissues, such as swelling of mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and dilatation of intercellular spaces, fenestration or disorganization of the Golgi complex, and concentric arrangement of rough endoplasmic reticulum. The initial infected organelles were mitochondria. After longer feeding on Bt rice by the larvae, the upper portions of the cells swelled, and cytoplasm in these regions decreased in electronic density and other organelles were damaged to a certain degree, such as wiredraw of nucleus, condensation of nuclear, and the increase of number of rough endoplasmic reticulum. As the infection proceeded further, pathological changes in the mitochondrial abundant areas of basal membrane enfoldings of columnar cells and cytoplasmic projections of goblet cells became more obvious. Finally, the midgut epithelium cells disrupted and sloughed off from the basal membrane.

A preliminary study has been carried out on the nesting biology and behavior of a solitary bee, Andrena camellia Wu. The authors excavated 23 nests from 4 sampling sites in 2 provinces, Jiangxi and Hunan. Nests of this bee consist of main stems and branches. In some soil of high quality, the main stems are 90-150 cm long, with small tilt angles, whereas those in soil of poor quality are 30-60 cm long, with twist, turns, and big tilt angles. Under a certain depth, there are some short branches connecting the long oval cell. The cell usually slopes gently downwards. Cells of one nest nearly all stay in the same plane. From the opening of the nest to the first cell, the main tunnel is normally vertical with small turns. Downwards from the first cell the main tunnel usually has one or more turns, with the tilt angle no more than 45°. Four adult bees were observed continuously for 7 days. We found that the adult bees go out to collect Camellia pollen everyday except for some rainy days. Each bee goes out 1 to 5 times a day, and the average rate is around 2 to 3 times a day, carrying large amount of pollen.

The biological characteristics of the endoparasitic mite, Locustacarus buchneri, of bumblebees Bombus lucorum and B. hypocrite in Xinjiang and Hebei were observed. The results showed that the ratio of parasitism in B. lucorum and B. hypocrite were 10.43% and 8.3%, respectively. The parasitic position for the mite was the trachea and air sac of the host. The mite population in the queen reared for 30 d was higher than that in the queen reared for 60 d. The average weight of the unparasitized queen was obviously higher than that of the parasitized queen, while there is no difference in the first date of oviposition and the rates of oviposition, oophagy and survival between the queens unparasitized and those parasitized.